Tiny connector jumped out and attacked me

[Larry Sabo]

By the way, where do you source 99% isopropyl?

In Canada, at Rexal Drug Stores, Walmart, Costco, Canadian Tire stores, and electronic repair supplies stores.

 

[britechguy]

The best I've generally been able to find "on the shelf" for years is 90%, and 70% is by far more common.

 

[Blues]

Will the 90% work just take maybe an extra application of it since it sounds like sourcing this can be a pain.

 

[britechguy]

Will the 90% work just take maybe an extra application of it since it sounds like sourcing this can be a pain.

I'd bet that even the 70% would work. It really would be "time in contact" more than any other factor.

But when you are doing this for business purposes, faster is generally better, so if there are easy mail-order/Amazon/etc. sources for "pure" isopropyl it's worth checking.

I also wonder if denatured alcohol (essentially pure ethanol) would work? Sometimes the type of alcohol matters, and others it doesn't. Denatured is really widely available

 

[Blues]

Might be worth testing the denatured though I am not sure I have any dead boards I could use it on.

 

[britechguy]

Well, it's the hot glue that matters here. You could affix a blob of it to any plastic or plastic like surface and give the alcohol test a try. It's what it does to the glue itself that is "the magic."

At the moment I just don't have the time for experimentation.

 

[sorcerer]

If/when it comes time to remove the connector, Isopropyl Alcohol 99% soaked into the hot glue will break the surface tension/bonding and the glue will become brittle and come off easy. If you don't do that, hot glue is strong enough to rip pads off a board.

I had no idea about that - great information, thank you.

 

[NJW]

True it will melt it, but you risk it getting all over the place. Trust me, Isopropyl Alcohol does wonders.

I'm well aware of the potential pitfalls with hot glue. The secret is to use just enough to do the job, rather than great gobs of it, then it remains controllable for rework. I also know that isopropanol is the recommended removal agent.